Chris Scott has a lot respect for Fremantle and is expecting a highly competitive game of football when the two sides meet on Monday night.

“I was at Fremantle when David Mundy, Michael Walters and Nat Fyfe were there, and I have a high regard for them, and I think they’re playing with great competitiveness at the moment,” Scott said.

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“I don’t think two wins for the season is reflective of the way that they have played across the season and clearly, they get a boost being back at home in front of a bit of a crowd.”

After going down to Collingwood by 22-points in Round 7, the Cats will be looking to respond with a victory to cement their place within the top eight. 

Both teams will be missing star power with Nat Fyfe absent from Fremantle’s line-up and Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett out for the Cats.

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First-year Cat Brad Close will play his first AFL game after being selected with the 14th pick in last year’s rookie draft.

For and Against: Played 39 games | Won: 26 | Lost: 13

Last time they met: Round 20, 2019 – Geelong 9.7 (61) def by Fremantle 14.11 (95)

Broadcast and Match Details

Monday 27 July at 6.10pm AWST (8.10pm AEST)
Watch: Fox Footy, Kayo
Listen: K Rock Football

Who will lead out the team?

Patrick Dangerfield and Mark Blicavs are set to share the captaincy in the absence of Joel Selwood.

Blicavs is more than happy to leave the inspirational stuff to Dangerfield though.

"I haven't spoken to Paddy yet, (but) I'd be happy to do the coin toss and let Paddy do the speech," Blicavs said ahead of main training on Tuesday morning.

"I gave the boys a bit of a rev-up two days before the game against Collingwood (last week) and it was a train wreck.

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Who goes to Walters?

Michael Walters has been one of the stars of the competition this season and Geelong’s coaching group will no doubt be exploring ways of restricting his influence when the two sides meet on Monday.

Walters leads the Dockers in most key areas. He is ranked number one for average disposals (21.7) and clearances (4.6) per game. He has also been highly influential in attack kicking eight goals and assisting four more to be ranked second in both areas.

In the likely absence of Nat Fyfe, Walters’ importance increases and whoever gets the job this week will have an important role to play. 

THERE was nothing pretty about this.

It was wet, it was wild, and there was hardly a clean possession in sight. But for Geelong, its mightily scrappy 32-point victory over Fremantle on Monday night represented a job well done. And a crucial one at that.

The Cats were made to grind for their 6.12 (48) to 2.4 (16) win at Optus Stadium. The ball, more like a cake of soap than a footy given the wild conditions that were lashing down, was spraying off the boot in seemingly every direction bar the goal.

But in an uncompromising territorial battle, Geelong had more of the answers. The visitors camped Fremantle deep inside its defensive half, holding the Dockers to the second-lowest score in the club's 26-year history.

Mitch Duncan (26 disposals, one goal) relished the tough conditions and was the game's outstanding midfielder, while Cam Guthrie (30 disposals, eight clearances) was a driving force around the ground.

Tom Hawkins (12 disposals, three goals) was also crafty in the forward line, finding unusual avenues to goal and looking a constant threat in the trying conditions.

Andrew Brayshaw (27 disposals, eight tackles) battled hard for the Dockers, but the hosts found little respite from both the pressure of their more experienced Cats counterparts and the horrid weather.

Ultimately, six goals was enough for Geelong – three of which were converted off the deck from close range – as the Cats re-established themselves in the top eight nearing the halfway point of the season.

Freo's night of pain

It was hard, tough footy. But for Fremantle, unwanted records were still broken. The Dockers went 68 minutes before finally registering their opening major through Matt Taberner – kicked in controversial circumstances after the goal umpire initially signalled for a behind. Their final score of 2.4 (16) was the second-lowest in the club's history, with Caleb Serong's late goal edging it ahead of the 1.7 (13) it kicked in a 117-point loss to Adelaide back in 2009. Their half-time score of 0.3 (3) was also the second lowest first-half score in the club's history, behind the 0.1 (1) kicked in that game against the Crows. Three of Fremantle's four lowest scores in its history have now been kicked against Geelong – in 2004, 2018 and 2020.

A game of Close margins

Brad Close was drafted at 21 years of age as a SANFL premiership player with Glenelg. But he looked every bit an AFL footballer in the early stages of Monday night's clash. Making his senior debut, Close tackled and pressured with ferocity and, when the opportunity came, he also marked cleanly. In soggy conditions, Close's first kick was a calm set-shot and – in an opening term where scoring was hard to come by – his subsequent major was a crucial one in the game's early stages. Geelong has had success with mature-aged recruits in recent years, drafting Tom Stewart (2016), Tim Kelly (2017) and Tom Atkins (2018) in three of the last four seasons. Close already looks a winner from the 2019 NAB AFL Rookie Draft crop.

The Dockers are all Tucker'd out

When the rain is pouring, goals are hard to come by and rotations are difficult to make, the last thing you need is an injury. Unfortunately for Fremantle, it had star midfielder Darcy Tucker go down just minutes into Monday night's contest. Tucker, who has been one of the side's best players this season, limped from the field with a hamstring issue in the opening stages of the contest. Having won more of the ball this year, and having had a significant impact on the scoreboard in various Dockers matches, Tucker was a crucial loss. Brennan Cox (hip) had already been a late withdrawal, with Tobe Watson introduced for his debut, as a tired and young Fremantle side failed to recover from the pair of early injury blows. Michael Walters also limped from the field late in the game with cramp in his hamstring.

FREMANTLE     0.2    0.3    1.3     2.4 (16)
GEELONG         1.2    2.9    3.9     6.12 (48)

GOALS
Fremantle: Taberner, Serong
Geelong: Hawkins 3, Close, Duncan, Menegola

BEST
Fremantle: Brayshaw, Ryan, Serong, Walters, Cerra
Geelong: Duncan, Guthrie, Tuohy, Taylor, Menegola, Blicavs

INJURIES
Fremantle: Cox (hip) replaced in selected side by Watson, Tucker (hamstring), Walters (hamstring)
Geelong: Nil